False Statement Attributed to Former US Official on China-Iraq Economic Agreement
The Claim
Larry Kudlow, former chief economic adviser to the White House, made a statement addressing the damage the 2018 Chinese-Iraqi deal has dealt to countries sharing a common interest with the U.S. in combating Chinese influence in Iraq.
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Emerging story
An alleged statement attributed to former White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow has recently circulated on Facebook and Twitter.In the purported claim, Mr. Larry is reported to have said that if Iraq and China go ahead with the strategic agreement concluded between them, the value of the U.S. dollar would collapse in Iraq against the Iraqi dinar. He also allegedly said that Iraq would become the link between China and Europe. In addition, the claim alleges that the ports of the Gulf states, the Suez Canal, and the ports of African countries bordering the Red Sea would suffer heavy losses. As a result, these countries' interests are aligned in confronting China's influence in Iraq.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulated claim and found it fake. Mr. Larry Kudlow never made such a statement in any of the meetings he’s had or the articles he’s written on China or Iraq.
Additionally, the economic agreement between China and Iraq was not revoked, while a number of other agreements were concluded under its framework last July.
Photo Description: The screenshot shows a piece of news on the agreements concluded between China and Iraq.
Iraq also concluded a memorandum of understanding with China in May 2018 in the Chinese capital, Beijing, which Iraqi media outlets referred to as the Chinese agreement. The MoU included a framework for cooperation between Iraq and China for a period of 20 years.
Translated by Ahmed N. A. Almassri
